Shades of ’93, Notre Dame Tops #1 Clemson in Double OT Thriller
Saturday night’s game at Notre Dame Stadium will go into the history books as one of the greatest games in Notre Dame history. This time the Irish will be on the right side of history, after beating top-ranked Clemson 47-40 in double overtime. This is the first time Notre Dame has beat the number one team at home since 1993 when #1 Florida State came to South Bend. Safe to say that very few, if any, undergrads that were in attendance Saturday night were alive for that Florida State game.
Notre Dame threw the fist punch on the first official play of the game, when Kyren Williams took the handoff and ran down the sidelines almost untouched for a 65-yard touchdown. The Irish set the tone with that play, but a team like Clemson was not about to back down; even without their star Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson offense did not miss a beat in the passing game. Freshman QB DJ Uiagalelei making his 2nd career start, set the recored for most passing yards against the Irish with 439 yards, passing the USC Heisman winner Carson Palmer. The Tigers still had their star running back Travis Etienne, who last week became the ACC all-time leading rusher, and the Irish game plan was set at stopping Etienne. The Irish defense passed that test with flying colors, holding the running back to only 28 yards rushing; they held Clemson as a team to just 34 yards rushing.
Clemson took the lead later in the 4th quarter, and as a life-long Notre Dame fan who has seen heartbreak after heartbreak, I was preparing for the worst. Notre Dame got the ball back with less than 2 minutes left and about 90 yards to go to tie the game, a tall task that Ian Book was ready for. Book stepped up and shut down all the criticism about him. Book found 4 different receivers on the final drive to tie the game. Clemson got the ball first in the first over time, scoring on its first play. Notre Dame had to answer the touchdown with one of their own to keep the game going; behind the offense that was stellar all night, the Irish ran the ball into the end zone with Kyren Williams to tie the game. The second overtime started the way the first one ended, with Notre Dame running the ball in with Williams to take the lead at 47-40. Williams had a night to remember, scoring 3 times and rushing for 140 yards. Clemson needed a touchdown to tie, and the Notre Dame defense led by Daelin Hayes and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah needed to make a stop to pull off the upset. The defense did just that, sacking Uiagalelei on back to back plays and breaking up a 3rd down pass play which set up 4th and very long. There would be no “Bush Push” play in this game, as the Irish defense shut down Clemson on 4th and 24. As soon as the ball hit the ground and the game was over, the Notre Dame student body who was in attendance rushed the field, (yes, not ideal because of COVID19 – but 20-year olds will be 20-year olds), and for the first time in a very, very long time Notre Dame pulled off the upset they have been so desperately chasing.
These are my 4 players of the game:
- Ian Book QB – If Notre Dame wanted any shot at winning this game, they needed the leader of the team to step up and make the plays that are needed. The 3-year starter and 2-year captain did just that, making throws and running the ball when needed. Book fumbled late in the 3rd and Clemson recovered, but Book did not flinch. The Irish needed him the most when they got the ball back late in the 4th while down 7; Book made his best throw of the game finding Avery Davis up the middle for a 53-yard pass play. Shortly after that on 3rd and goal, Book hit Davis again to tie the game. Book finished the game 22 of 39 for 310 yards and 1 touchdown, also adding 68 yards rushing on 15 carries.
- Avery Davis WR – With the Irish down a couple wide outs, the former quarterback-turned running back-turned corner back-turned wide receiver (that’s not joke, look it up) stepped up when the Irish needed him the most. Davis hauled in 4 big catches for 78 yards, none bigger than the 53-yarder to set up the game-tying touchdown catch…also by Davis. Davis could have given up and left the program but he stuck it out, switched positions to find the field, and the hard work has finally paid off for the senior.
- Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah LB – The star linebacker stepped up on the biggest stage, making one of the biggest plays of the game after taking the ball away from Clemson’s Travis Etienne after he couldn’t control a toss, scoring for the Irish. Owusu-Karahoah was all over the field, ending the night with a team-high 9 total tackles. For anyone that has been watching Notre Dame, we have all known about the superstar the Irish have at linebacker, and it is awesome to see him get the recognition he deserves on the national level.
- Jonathan Doerer K – In a game of this magnitude, both teams could not miss on any chance to score points no matter how they came. The senior kicker made every kick that was expected of him, only missing what would have been a school-record 57-yarder to end the half. Doerer went 4/5 with a long of 45, also converting every extra point.
Going into the game, to say I was worried would be a the world’s largest understatement. I knew the talent was there to match a team like Clemson – but in the last couple of years when the Irish just haven’t shown up for big games, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this team. The Irish proved me very wrong, and I am very happy about that. The biggest takeaway from this game was not that the Irish won, but that they won without playing a perfect game. They left points on the field – like kicking field goals when they should have scored and turning the ball over inside the red zone; normally, that would spell disaster for a team, but this Irish team is different. This was not David vs Goliath, these two teams were well-matched and could overcome a setback if they had to. This win shows that Notre Dame belongs in talks of the elite teams in college football.